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Dr. Gary Schwartz: "Is Consciousness More than the Brain"?

We at The Thunderbolts Project think that no truly coherent cosmology can fail to address human consciousness. As Wal Thornhill has written, “A real cosmology must be a broad and coherent natural philosophy. It may always be incomplete, based on our limitations, but to be valid there can be no exceptions in our experience. In particular, cosmology must address issues of life and the human condition. Therefore it must be a truly interdisciplinary pursuit.”

Today, perhaps the ultimate unsolved mystery of human life is: how and why does consciousness exist? Although some scientific literature still acknowledges that the question remains open, the overwhelming consensus among neuroscientists today is that the brain alone creates conscious experience. However, for decades, acclaimed scientists around the world have conducted research into consciousness that provides a very different picture. One of the most remarkable of these researchers is Dr. Gary Schwartz, professor of psychology, medicine, neurology, psychiatry and surgery at the University of Arizona and director of its Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health. We asked Dr. Gary Schwartz for his thoughts on the mystery of consciousness.